The whole story starts off when King Charles the II commissioned a scientist by the name of Sir Christopher Wren to complete a set of microscopical trials. He was very eager and took upon the challenge very willingly, but only to later realize that he did not have enough time to complete said trials.
He then passed on the task to a young scientist by the name of Robert Hooke, who was only twenty six years of age at the time. Through his technical abilities Hooke was able to tweak the microscopes of that time in several different ways. He first came up with ways to control height and angle of a microscope and also brought fourth new methods of illumination which was a great feat at the time. These inventions helped enable Hooke to now magnify things 50x which opened him up to a whole new world of things that he had been unable to see before.
Robert went above and beyond his specimen examination requirements. He not only viewed insects which Kind Charles II had instructed to do, but he also looked at fabrics, leaves, glass, and even as far as frozen urine! Hooke conducted several experiments upon himself doing things such as letting a leech suck blood from his hand to view how the blood flowed through the veins in his hand, or pricking himself with nettles (a plant with stinging hairs) to see how the poison from the plant pumped throughout his hand.
One day Hooke was examining a cork and noticed small pockets within the cork that somewhat resembles pores. He then decided to name these "cells". And, well that name stuck! On that day Hooke discovered the building blocks of our lives, and he is still credited with that discovery today.
I'm sure we've all found ourselves doing this at least once in our life. It's a great way to express our feelings, and let all those packed away emotions inside, out.
This weekend I found myself with a not so happy Thanksgiving. Water works central was a great way to describe the environment in which I spent the entirety of my weekend. It got me to noticing my leaky faucet of a nose. I filled Kleenex after Kleenex with tears and snot. As I did this I began to wonder, why on earth does my nose leak so much when i cry? And, so began the research. I soon came to find all about the fascinating world of lacrimal glands, lacrimal canals and nasolacrimal ducts.
Your lacrimal gland is found in your eyebrow area, and it is where the production of tears begins. The tears then end up in something called a lacrimal sac, which is the little red sac of skin in the corner of your eye. This is where the tears come from when they come streaming down your face. However, not all tears come out that way. Some fall down through a part of your body called a lacrimal canal. This is a canal that goes down the length of your nose. Once the tears have made their way down the canal they connect to something called a nasolacrimal duct.. Here is where the magic happens. All those leftover tears mix with the mucus in your nose, and that's why all the snot comes raining out. If you really think about it, your nose is crying too!
It's crazy how one moment something can be there, and the next moment, it's gone. Your heart is a wild thing, it can give out at any second. The cause of a heart wrenching event like this when there is a blockage, disabling the ability for your body to pump oxygen-rich blood to your heart. One of the leading causes of heart attacks is something called Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). This is a disease that causes a waxy substance known as plaque to build inside a persons coronary arteries. These are the arteries who's job is to supply the oxygen-rich blood to your heart and keep it pumping.
No one really knows when they're going to have a heart attack, but they can surely feel it when they do. Heart attack recipients experience back pain, grave chest pain, nausea, vomiting shortness of breath, and so many other things. But, a heart attack can also be a silent killer. Over twenty five percent of people never experience any symptoms at all, which is when a heart attack is most deadly.
It can happen to anyone. Not just those who eat unhealthy, have CHD, or at a higher age of risk.The youngest documented case, was a thirteen year old boy named Zhen Siong from Luktuk.But, we do have science and doctors to thank for the hundreds of precautions and risk reductions that have been brought forth through research and experience. Sometimes it's left to chance though, anything can happen!
Stoppler, M. (2010). Heart attack symptoms and early warning signs. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/heart_attack__symptoms_and_early_warning_signs/views.htm
Post in commemoration of Ron O'leary. You were a wonderful man as long as I and so many other people knew you. You always knew exactly how to put others infront of yourself, and we thank you everyday for it. You will be sorrily missed from this day forward! Personal Post #3:
I was looking around Youtube one day and found this video. It kind of brightened my day a bit, and got me to thinking, what in the heck are cooties actually?! I always remembered them from when i was a kid, but never took the time to find out what they REALLY were.
I was surprised to later find out that cooties originated back during the times of World War 2. It was one of several diseases that men caught while living in the dirt trenches during the war period. They were treated using a prickle bath along with some sort of solution. Over time, the idea of what cooties really were evolved. They soon became in the eyes of most a fictitious disease designed by parents to teach their kids about germs, and hopefully help boys and girls to avoid physical contact from each other at a young age. Kids were taught that through bodily contact from the opposite sex you become infected with what we like to call "Cooties". It became an elaborate scheme thought up by parents to protect their children, at a young age, from the world of relationships that were to explore as they grew older.
SARS is a very scary disease. It stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. It just sort of popped out of no where and took everyone by surprise. It started off in the Guandong province of China. A Chinese professor of respiratory medicine who was treating people with the still unknown disease was infected himself. He at this time traveled to Hong Kong China, unknowingly taking the disease with him and in turn causing a massive spread in the year 2003. SARS is a disease that effects the body's upper respiratory tract, which means that it is as easy to catch as the common cold. Once infected with the virus one would begin many symptoms such as:
High fever.
Dry cough.
Difficulty breathing.
Severe headaches.
Rash.
Confusion.
Muscular aches or possible stiffness.
Fatigue.
Diarrhea.
People had no clue what was hitting them. Over 8,000 people contracted SARS, and over 700 died worldwide. This means that about 1 in 10 people that contracted the virus didn't live to see another healthy day. Such a scary thought. SARS was most frequently found in seniors over the age of 65. They were at higher risk due to the fact that their immune systems had greatly deteriorated over time and did not have as great of a chance at defending themseleves against the infectious disease. You can be sick with SARS and not even realize it. in some reported cases it took up to 14 days before symptoms began to appear. Once these symptoms do begin to appear the best treatment option is the same as that of a person who has become sick with pneumonia. Doctors would not only administer this treatment, but also resorted to extensive isolation of each patient. This was done as means of hopefully preventing further spreading. SARS began its journey in the large continent of Asia, but did not stop there. As people traveled the world for vacations, or work, they brought the virus they may have no even known they had with them. It ended up Canada (with a significantly large outbreak in Toronto), the US, and several other large areas.
Alcohol might seem harmless, but that's exactly how it gets you. Sure that one drink won't be all that bad, but it's the drink after that one, and after that one that'll come back and haunt you. Repeated alcohol abuse, and binge drinking can bring forth so many problems. Many of the effects brought forth by alcohol come after a long extended period of time. Some of these include:
Brain Damage- Alcohol can cause anxiety issues, blackouts and even memory loss. It's especially harmless to those in their teenage years due to the fact that their brain is still developing. It can affect their ability to learn and remember properly.
Cancer- Alcohol is the second most common cause of throat and mouth cancer, smoking being the first of course. It can also very easily lead to cancer of the liver.
Heart- Alcohol is known to cause high blood pressure, and you know what that means. It means that a person would run a much higher risk or heart attack or stroke. It can also affect the hearts functionality and ability to pump blood to the rest of the body. This can often result in sudden death.
Lungs- People who consume a large amount oh alcohol run a much higher risk of becoming infected with pneumonia and having their lungs suddenly collapse.
Liver- Alcohol causes a fat build up in ones liver. With excess amounts of drinking there becomes a greater and greater amount of fat build up, which could potentially cause swelling of the liver, ultimately causing it to fail.
Stomach- Drinking that little bit too much can result in the several stomach ulcers. It can also lead to swelling of the stomach, much the same way as it does in the liver, resulting in the inability to absorb food properly which can often result in cancer.
Weight Gain- Alcohol is VERY high in calories. The more you drink, the more calories you consume. This is where the common conception of a "Beer Belly" comes from. Men who drink beer, or other liquor frequently, are highly susceptible to large amounts of weight gain which more often than not end up being in the belly area.
Bones- Osteoporosis is a scary sounding word, but alcohol can bring forth this as well. It reduces your bones ability to absorb calcium, which results in them being greatly weakened.
There are so many other affects that alcohol can have on ones body. So next time you're sitting down to chug back a drink with your friends, stop and think. "Sure this will be good now, but I regret this 20 years from now?".
WHAT IS IT?
In our bodies we have a system called our lymphatic system which is where many of our bodies defense systems are enclosed. It also involved in the distribution of fluids and nutrients amongst our bodies. Doctor's aren't really sure what the cause of Lymphatic cancer is, but they know that it begins with a white blood cell (a T of B type) becomes abnormal. These cells rapidly divide, in turn creating more and more abnormal cells. This type of cancer is very easily spread amongst the rest of a human's body.
TREATMENT
There are several different things that people use as treatment processes for a cancer such as this. This includes anything from simple medication to radiation/chemo therapy. The treatment option often depends upon age, physical health, how far the cancer has progressed, and the lymphatic system of the individual patient. Also if the patient has been previously diagnosed, this can be a large factor when it comes to the treatment options. If the patient has previously gone into remission this means that their immune system has already fought a great battle and one, but is now significantly weaker, making battling the cancer a second time that much more difficult, but not impossible.
We recently got a new Yorkshire Terrier breed puppy over the weekend. We've been running around like crazy cleaning up after her, training her, walking her, feeding her, and all that puppy stuff that is completely new to us. She might be a hassle now and again, but my entire family has fallen in love with her adorable little puppy eyes. No matter the trouble she seems to get into, we can't help but just smile and laugh it off. But in the midst of all the hustle bustle of dog care, I got wondering about where she really came from. All of the stuff you never really think to look up when you get a new dog. So, that's exactly what i did... looked it all up!!
WHERE Yorkshire Puppies are thought to have originally come from various parts of England, although they have a rich history that can be traced around the entire world.
SIZE Many years ago this breed of dog was known to be much bigger than it is today. Many years ago their average weight was about 30 pounds. My dog, Willow, weighs four pounds right now, and will grow to be about six which is the tip of the average. Morst Yorkshire's grow to weigh anywhere between four and seven pounds.
COLOUR Most Yorkshire Terries have very specific coat colours. In most fully grown Yorkshires they have gold around their ears, and also on top of their head. A small amount of blue can be found on the shanks of their legs along with small parts of their back. Their back, or main outer coat, is lined with black hair. They are usually found with tan underneath their chin, and at the tips of their ears.
SHOW One of the main reasons some people purchase dogs such as these is for show purposes. If breed and taken care of properly, Yorkshire's can grow up to be absolutely beautiful dogs and many owners will show their dogs off in several show dog competitions. They are not too difficult to train, or take care of, which also makes them very well loved by their owners.
We recently finished a unit in class on stem cells. It was a rather intriguing topic for me. I've heard the term "Stem Cells" numerous times, but never really looked into what they really were, so it was fascinating to learn what they're all about. I never knew that there was more than one type of stem cells, or that there was so many beneficial uses for them. We did a project that required us to great the stem cell legislation for a country named Adanac, which turned out to be a very eye opening activity. It opened to my eyes to all of the varied opinions in society. The different ways in which religions, corporations etc. viewed the entire topic. It got me to thinking about what I thought about all the different methods. There was only one that I had didn't completely agree with. This is called IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) purely for research. I just couldn't bring myself to agreeing with creating a being purely for research when there were safer, more humane methods. I think stem cell research is a great idea though! The thought of curing many diseases that we've never even dreamed of finding cures for makes me ecstatic! One of my best friends has diabetes, and I have an uncle with cancer, so with the chances of there one day being cures and treatment for these disease is mind blowing to me. Learning about how Obama lifted the ban on research in the USA was interesting to here too. I loved learning that stem cells are not only a hot topic in the science world, but the political world as well. I actually found myself straying away from a regular night on facebook, to reading articles about stem cells just to see what was going on with research around the world. It was a great topic, and I was very glad we got to learn so much more about it!
HOT ZONE POST # 1: Part 1
This novel somewhat jumps in story line. It starts off by talking about how the virus first comes to be. It talks about the story of a man who first contracted it, and his struggle to shake it. It explains the symptoms he received, and the brutal death that he experienced. It then moves on to talk about the doctor that fought with everything he had to save that dying man, and contracted the disease himself. The book then continues with talking about a man named Dr. Silverstein who tries to track down this virus and discover what it really is. Next the book introduces you to a woman named Nancy Jaax. She's your typical house wife, with a beautiful home, and a beautiful family. But, she has a very unusual job. She works at a place called the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. She spends her days working on finding cures for highly infectious disease. She has a very "out of the ordinary" day. She was working with a very dangerous disease called Ebola, a disease in which they were testing on monkeys at the time, when the glove in her bio -hazard suit tore and her hand was contaminated with the infectious blood of one of the monkeys they had been testing. It then goes on to talk about how two nuns contracted the virus, along with hundreds of other people, and how it's really starting to catch the attention of people now. They take a closer look at the virus that has been infecting thousands, and come to find out that it somewhat resembles a worm, and is just as dangerous as they feared.
The thing that struck me the most was the greatly detailed descriptions of the disease symptoms. Just the mental picture of organs liquifying and blood spewing everywhere makes my stomach do loopdy loops. The thought that someone had to experience that, and no one saw it coming just makes my jaw drop and keep right on dropping. Imagining someone that sick, someone slowly dying like that, and not being able to do a thing about make it hard to read the book. It really puts into perspective the control that diseases can have on us, how they can completely take over our lives that easily.
Every minute of the chapter with Nancy Jaax, I knew something bad was going to happen. Every moment she was in the Bio Lab working with Ebola, I was scared beyond belief of what was to come next. I just wanted to climb inside the book and save her, tell her not to go to work that day. When she cut her hand on the knife, I just knew that was a bad sign. I'm fearing the moment that she contracts the virus later on in the book. I hope so much that she does not, but I have a gut feeling she's not going to get that lucky. It was very easy to connect with her husband in the book, because I felt the same emotions he did towards the whole situation. I just wished she had never agreed to do that job in the first place and put her self in a dangerous spot like that. I admire her for being so brave, but can't help but think how crazy she is to do what she does!
HOT ZONE POST # 2: Part 2
Things began to go downhill in the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The laboratory recently received a new shipment of monkey's, but they had no idea the disease that was brewing within these animals. Many of the Monkey's began to get very sick, and slowly started dying off. No one knew what was happening, so they began to run every test in the book to try and figure out was infecting the monkey's. They thought it was a very simple, harmless disease at first, but boy were they ever wrong. It ended up being a disease known as Ebola. Everyone was in fear and shock. The military took immediate action, and began mastering a plan to help abolish the disease, and prevent further spread. Nancy and her husband Jerry were both assigned to help with the job.
What shocked me the most was how quickly an unknown disease can turn into something so scary. One minute they thought the monkey's may have some sort of simple flu, the next it's a dangerous ebola outbreak. It just leaves that bit of fear in my mind that when i'm sick, maybe it's something else, and I just don't know it yet. It just leaves you thinking, and worrying. But, it does however make me feel much safer that our society is capable of dealing with such a big crisis in such an efficient manor.
HOT ZONE POST # 3: Part 3
This section is mainly focused on the isolation of the Ebola disease that was found amongst the lab. They try to keep their efforts on the down low as to not attract to much media attention, which could more than likely cause a panic throughout the country. The team of specialized soldiers enter the lab not really knowing what to expect. They have to kill each monkey one by one, and dispose of them in the proper manor. They kill each monkey in a painless manor, and make sure to be as humane as possible. Each person that goes in or out of the contaminated lab must wear a specialized suit that protects them from the virus itself. Each tank has it's own tank of oxygen which enables the person within the suit to breathe clean fresh air. There is one incident where one soldiers battery that powers her suit, including the oxygen tank, fails. She had to be IMMEDIATELY evacuated. She made it out alright and uninfected, but got very lucky. Also, one monkey broke free and reeked havoc as the soldiers fought to re-contain it.
Just picturing myself in the shoes of any one of the soldiers that had to enter that lab gives me the shivers. The thought of not knowing if something would go wrong or not from one second to the next. Also, the thought of having to put down so many innocent animals is horrifying. They might not have all been sick yet, but they were put to death anyways. I did think it was romantic however how Jerry and Nancy worked together on this. Something about doing something that may kill you with the one you love just kills me. I'm really excited to keep reading and finish the fourth section.
HOT ZONE POST # 4: Part 4
The book ends with the author, Richard Preston, take a trip to Kitum Cave in Africa to get his own take on the disease. You learn about where AIDS first started. The highway they must travel to get to the save is called "AIDS Highway" or also known as the "Kinshasa Highway." This is the place in which they first found the disease. Preston, of course wears a bio-safety suit in hopes to protect himself from the dangers of the cave as he explores within it's realms. The novel ends very powerfully, with the author traveling to the monkey house that was infected by the disease earlier in the novel. His ending statement of the book is, "It will be back".
I thought this was a great way to end the novel. It sort of gave you a life line of the disease, showing you where it started and where it hopefully came to an end. It made it that much more real for me. To think that it started somewhere so remote in Africa and then made it's way so far as to infect so many other animals. It really strikes you, and shows you how scary disease can really be.
Personal Post #8: It's All in the GENES
I was sitting at a family dinner the other day when suddenly everyone started talking about how I had my Dad's eyes, my mom's hands and so on. It really got me thinking, do I actually? I'd never really thought about how I actually inherited genes and what not from my parents, and what parts of them really made up me.
When our parents "do the dirty" to conceive us a twenty three chromosome sperm joins together with a twenty three chromosfor egg come together to form a fourty six chromosome zygote which eventually moves on to form a baby. This is where the magic first begins to bring us to being like our mothers and fathers. Each and every one of those chromosomes contains genetic info, and the chromosomes that a passed onto us from our parents contain a certain amount of thur genetic information. This genetic info is what decides our hair color, nose shape, skigenome, pretty. Icy everything that makes up who we are. These chromosomes also help the body to produce enzymes that the body uses to help regulate chemical reactions within the body. All those these chromosomes and genetic info is contained in something called DNA, which is the basic building blocks of our body. It is said that the human body contains between twenty five to thirty thousand genes. That's an INSANE amount!! And so many of those come from your parents.
Think of it this way your mother has the genes that give her blue eyes, when her chromosmosis join together with your father's to create you, those certain genes may pass along also giving you bright blue eyes. Also something that people never rally think about is that it's not just looks that pass through the gene pool, it can also be personality traits and hereditary diseases. If cancer runs in your family genes, the you might be much mor susceptible to being diagnosed with it later in life. I know myself, I have , father's out going personality, and my mom's stubbornness.
Ouch, THAT HURTS As a girl, it's always been something that i've wondered. Every once a month, when your time comes around, why on earth does it hurt so much? So off to google I went to learn all about what causes period cramps!
All women have something called a uterus, this is where the formation of a baby takes place, through the process of a sperm fertilizing an egg. Most women however do not have this fertilization process happen each month. Instead, the inner walls of the uterus begin to break down and compounds called prostaglandins are formed. These said compounds cause the walls of the uterus begin to become more compact. This is done so that the oxygen supply is cut off to the uterus causing it's lining tissue to die. Once this has taken place the contraction of the uterus literally squeezes this dead tissue out through the vagina as means of disposing it. Also leukotriene, which is a chemical involved in the body's inflammatory response, levels are highly elevated at the time of menstruation. The contraction and elevated levels scientists believe are two of the main causes of the grave pain many girls face each month.
It doesn't always have to be so bad though. As the years go by we are constantly finding little tid-bits that help us struggle through the pain. There are several recommended exercises that you can do to help reduce the severity of your cramps. (http://www.beinggirl.com:80/article/exercise-cramps/) Also doctors recommend several different medications such as Midol, Birth Control, Advil, and so on. A healthy diet and a good nights sleep have also been know to be a pretty effective remedy. It's definitely a dreaded time of month, but hey, it's nice that I now know what's going on.
What the book made me think about was how a disease sort of "lives inside you" in a sense. This thought led to another which led to another which really go me thinking, what if something LIVING was actually inside of you! What would that be like. What I first jumped to was youtube. I figured looking up true stories of humans having living creatures inside them would be a great way to get a feel for what it would truly be like.
I was able to find the following videos:
Video # 1:
I thought that was so crazy how they attached to him while gardening and then just burrowed and nested in the back of his head. I can't imagine the pain in that, or how scary it would be. Especially next to his brain which is such a vital organ.
Video #2:
Hookworms sounds terrible. We learned about them in Bio class, and they just made me cringe. The thought of those jagged teeth attaching to your intestine is gut wrenching. It has been estimated that around one fifth of the worlds population has been infected by tape worms at some point in their life. That is such a scary thought to know that so many people have experienced it, and I could so easily be the next. It can take something as simple as walking barefoot across infected soil, which gives them to ability to attach to your skin.
Video #3:
June bugs are found all across North America. The one inside this mans ear was living when it crawled inside and then later died off inside of his head. It's a little under one inch in length, which is crazy when you think of how small your ear hole is. How one earth did it fit in there in the first place?
I could NOT imagine being infested with any one of these living creatures. Our bodies were never built to have other living organisms inside of them, which makes your mind wander to all the possibilities of things that could go wrong!
HOMEWORK POST #1-
Discovery of the CellThe whole story starts off when King Charles the II commissioned a scientist by the name of Sir Christopher Wren to complete a set of microscopical trials. He was very eager and took upon the challenge very willingly, but only to later realize that he did not have enough time to complete said trials.
He then passed on the task to a young scientist by the name of Robert Hooke, who was only twenty six years of age at the time. Through his technical abilities Hooke was able to tweak the microscopes of that time in several different ways. He first came up with ways to control height and angle of a microscope and also brought fourth new methods of illumination which was a great feat at the time. These inventions helped enable Hooke to now magnify things 50x which opened him up to a whole new world of things that he had been unable to see before.
One day Hooke was examining a cork and noticed small pockets within the cork that somewhat resembles pores. He then decided to name these "cells". And, well that name stuck! On that day Hooke discovered the building blocks of our lives, and he is still credited with that discovery today.Personal Post # 1
I Spy a Cry
I'm sure we've all found ourselves doing this at least once in our life. It's a great way to express our feelings, and let all those packed away emotions inside, out.
This weekend I found myself with a not so happy Thanksgiving. Water works central was a great way to describe the environment in which I spent the entirety of my weekend. It got me to noticing my leaky faucet of a nose. I filled Kleenex after Kleenex with tears and snot. As I did this I began to wonder, why on earth does my nose leak so much when i cry? And, so began the research. I soon came to find all about the fascinating world of lacrimal glands, lacrimal canals and nasolacrimal ducts.
Your lacrimal gland is found in your eyebrow area, and it is where the production of tears begins. The tears then end up in something called a lacrimal sac, which is the little red sac of skin in the corner of your eye. This is where the tears come from when they come streaming down your face. However, not all tears come out that way. Some fall down through a part of your body called a lacrimal canal. This is a canal that goes down the length of your nose. Once the tears have made their way down the canal they connect to something called a nasolacrimal duct.. Here is where the magic happens. All those leftover tears mix with the mucus in your nose, and that's why all the snot comes raining out. If you really think about it, your nose is crying too!
References:
Research
Pictures
Personal Post # 2:
Your Heart's Under Attack
It's crazy how one moment something can be there, and the next moment, it's gone. Your heart is a wild thing, it can give out at any second. The cause of a heart wrenching event like this when there is a blockage, disabling the ability for your body to pump oxygen-rich blood to your heart. One of the leading causes of heart attacks is something called Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). This is a disease that causes a waxy substance known as plaque to build inside a persons coronary arteries. These are the arteries who's job is to supply the oxygen-rich blood to your heart and keep it pumping.
No one really knows when they're going to have a heart attack, but they can surely feel it when they do. Heart attack recipients experience back pain, grave chest pain, nausea, vomiting shortness of breath, and so many other things. But, a heart attack can also be a silent killer. Over twenty five percent of people never experience any symptoms at all, which is when a heart attack is most deadly.
It can happen to anyone. Not just those who eat unhealthy, have CHD, or at a higher age of risk.The youngest documented case, was a thirteen year old boy named Zhen Siong from Luktuk. But, we do have science and doctors to thank for the hundreds of precautions and risk reductions that have been brought forth through research and experience. Sometimes it's left to chance though, anything can happen!
Post in commemoration of Ron O'leary. You were a wonderful man as long as I and so many other people knew you. You always knew exactly how to put others infront of yourself, and we thank you everyday for it. You will be sorrily missed from this day forward!
Personal Post #3:
I was looking around Youtube one day and found this video. It kind of brightened my day a bit, and got me to thinking, what in the heck are cooties actually?! I always remembered them from when i was a kid, but never took the time to find out what they REALLY were.
I was surprised to later find out that cooties originated back during the times of World War 2. It was one of several diseases that men caught while living in the dirt trenches during the war period. They were treated using a prickle bath along with some sort of solution. Over time, the idea of what cooties really were evolved. They soon became in the eyes of most a fictitious disease designed by parents to teach their kids about germs, and hopefully help boys and girls to avoid physical contact from each other at a young age. Kids were taught that through bodily contact from the opposite sex you become infected with what we like to call "Cooties". It became an elaborate scheme thought up by parents to protect their children, at a young age, from the world of relationships that were to explore as they grew older.
Personal Post #4!
Not so Sarry SARS.
SARS is a very scary disease. It stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. It just sort of popped out of no where and took everyone by surprise. It started off in the Guandong province of China. A Chinese professor of respiratory medicine who was treating people with the still unknown disease was infected himself. He at this time traveled to Hong Kong China, unknowingly taking the disease with him and in turn causing a massive spread in the year 2003. SARS is a disease that effects the body's upper respiratory tract, which means that it is as easy to catch as the common cold. Once infected with the virus one would begin many symptoms such as:
- High fever.
- Dry cough.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Severe headaches.
- Rash.
- Confusion.
- Muscular aches or possible stiffness.
- Fatigue.
- Diarrhea.
People had no clue what was hitting them. Over 8,000 people contracted SARS, and over 700 died worldwide. This means that about 1 in 10 people that contracted the virus didn't live to see another healthy day. Such a scary thought. SARS was most frequently found in seniors over the age of 65. They were at higher risk due to the fact that their immune systems had greatly deteriorated over time and did not have as great of a chance at defending themseleves against the infectious disease. You can be sick with SARS and not even realize it. in some reported cases it took up to 14 days before symptoms began to appear. Once these symptoms do begin to appear the best treatment option is the same as that of a person who has become sick with pneumonia. Doctors would not only administer this treatment, but also resorted to extensive isolation of each patient. This was done as means of hopefully preventing further spreading. SARS began its journey in the large continent of Asia, but did not stop there. As people traveled the world for vacations, or work, they brought the virus they may have no even known they had with them. It ended up Canada (with a significantly large outbreak in Toronto), the US, and several other large areas.Personal Post # 5
Silent Killer
Alcohol might seem harmless, but that's exactly how it gets you. Sure that one drink won't be all that bad, but it's the drink after that one, and after that one that'll come back and haunt you. Repeated alcohol abuse, and binge drinking can bring forth so many problems. Many of the effects brought forth by alcohol come after a long extended period of time. Some of these include:
There are so many other affects that alcohol can have on ones body. So next time you're sitting down to chug back a drink with your friends, stop and think. "Sure this will be good now, but I regret this 20 years from now?".
Personal Post # 6
Lymphoma
WHAT IS IT?
In our bodies we have a system called our lymphatic system which is where many of our bodies defense systems are enclosed. It also involved in the distribution of fluids and nutrients amongst our bodies. Doctor's aren't really sure what the cause of Lymphatic cancer is, but they know that it begins with a white blood cell (a T of B type) becomes abnormal. These cells rapidly divide, in turn creating more and more abnormal cells. This type of cancer is very easily spread amongst the rest of a human's body.
TREATMENT
There are several different things that people use as treatment processes for a cancer such as this. This includes anything from simple medication to radiation/chemo therapy. The treatment option often depends upon age, physical health, how far the cancer has progressed, and the lymphatic system of the individual patient. Also if the patient has been previously diagnosed, this can be a large factor when it comes to the treatment options. If the patient has previously gone into remission this means that their immune system has already fought a great battle and one, but is now significantly weaker, making battling the cancer a second time that much more difficult, but not impossible.
Personal Post #7:
PUPPIES
We recently got a new Yorkshire Terrier breed puppy over the weekend. We've been running around like crazy cleaning up after her, training her, walking her, feeding her, and all that puppy stuff that is completely new to us. She might be a hassle now and again, but my entire family has fallen in love with her adorable little puppy eyes. No matter the trouble she seems to get into, we can't help but just smile and laugh it off. But in the midst of all the hustle bustle of dog care, I got wondering about where she really came from. All of the stuff you never really think to look up when you get a new dog. So, that's exactly what i did... looked it all up!!
WHERE
Yorkshire Puppies are thought to have originally come from various parts of England, although they have a rich history that can be traced around the entire world.
SIZE
Many years ago this breed of dog was known to be much bigger than it is today. Many years ago their average weight was about 30 pounds. My dog, Willow, weighs four pounds right now, and will grow to be about six which is the tip of the average. Morst Yorkshire's grow to weigh anywhere between four and seven pounds.
COLOUR
Most Yorkshire Terries have very specific coat colours. In most fully grown Yorkshires they have gold around their ears, and also on top of their head. A small amount of blue can be found on the shanks of their legs along with small parts of their back. Their back, or main outer coat, is lined with black hair. They are usually found with tan underneath their chin, and at the tips of their ears.
SHOW
One of the main reasons some people purchase dogs such as these is for show purposes. If breed and taken care of properly, Yorkshire's can grow up to be absolutely beautiful dogs and many owners will show their dogs off in several show dog competitions. They are not too difficult to train, or take care of, which also makes them very well loved by their owners.
Homework Post #2:
STEM CELLS
We recently finished a unit in class on stem cells. It was a rather intriguing topic for me. I've heard the term "Stem Cells" numerous times, but never really looked into what they really were, so it was fascinating to learn what they're all about. I never knew that there was more than one type of stem cells, or that there was so many beneficial uses for them. We did a project that required us to great the stem cell legislation for a country named Adanac, which turned out to be a very eye opening activity. It opened to my eyes to all of the varied opinions in society. The different ways in which religions, corporations etc. viewed the entire topic. It got me to thinking about what I thought about all the different methods. There was only one that I had didn't completely agree with. This is called IVF (In-Vitro Fertilization) purely for research. I just couldn't bring myself to agreeing with creating a being purely for research when there were safer, more humane methods. I think stem cell research is a great idea though! The thought of curing many diseases that we've never even dreamed of finding cures for makes me ecstatic! One of my best friends has diabetes, and I have an uncle with cancer, so with the chances of there one day being cures and treatment for these disease is mind blowing to me. Learning about how Obama lifted the ban on research in the USA was interesting to here too. I loved learning that stem cells are not only a hot topic in the science world, but the political world as well. I actually found myself straying away from a regular night on facebook, to reading articles about stem cells just to see what was going on with research around the world. It was a great topic, and I was very glad we got to learn so much more about it!
HOT ZONE POST # 1: Part 1
This novel somewhat jumps in story line. It starts off by talking about how the virus first comes to be. It talks about the story of a man who first contracted it, and his struggle to shake it. It explains the symptoms he received, and the brutal death that he experienced. It then moves on to talk about the doctor that fought with everything he had to save that dying man, and contracted the disease himself. The book then continues with talking about a man named Dr. Silverstein who tries to track down this virus and discover what it really is. Next the book introduces you to a woman named Nancy Jaax. She's your typical house wife, with a beautiful home, and a beautiful family. But, she has a very unusual job. She works at a place called the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. She spends her days working on finding cures for highly infectious disease. She has a very "out of the ordinary" day. She was working with a very dangerous disease called Ebola, a disease in which they were testing on monkeys at the time, when the glove in her bio -hazard suit tore and her hand was contaminated with the infectious blood of one of the monkeys they had been testing. It then goes on to talk about how two nuns contracted the virus, along with hundreds of other people, and how it's really starting to catch the attention of people now. They take a closer look at the virus that has been infecting thousands, and come to find out that it somewhat resembles a worm, and is just as dangerous as they feared.
The thing that struck me the most was the greatly detailed descriptions of the disease symptoms. Just the mental picture of organs liquifying and blood spewing everywhere makes my stomach do loopdy loops. The thought that someone had to experience that, and no one saw it coming just makes my jaw drop and keep right on dropping. Imagining someone that sick, someone slowly dying like that, and not being able to do a thing about make it hard to read the book. It really puts into perspective the control that diseases can have on us, how they can completely take over our lives that easily.
Every minute of the chapter with Nancy Jaax, I knew something bad was going to happen. Every moment she was in the Bio Lab working with Ebola, I was scared beyond belief of what was to come next. I just wanted to climb inside the book and save her, tell her not to go to work that day. When she cut her hand on the knife, I just knew that was a bad sign. I'm fearing the moment that she contracts the virus later on in the book. I hope so much that she does not, but I have a gut feeling she's not going to get that lucky. It was very easy to connect with her husband in the book, because I felt the same emotions he did towards the whole situation. I just wished she had never agreed to do that job in the first place and put her self in a dangerous spot like that. I admire her for being so brave, but can't help but think how crazy she is to do what she does!
HOT ZONE POST # 2: Part 2
Things began to go downhill in the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. The laboratory recently received a new shipment of monkey's, but they had no idea the disease that was brewing within these animals. Many of the Monkey's began to get very sick, and slowly started dying off. No one knew what was happening, so they began to run every test in the book to try and figure out was infecting the monkey's. They thought it was a very simple, harmless disease at first, but boy were they ever wrong. It ended up being a disease known as Ebola. Everyone was in fear and shock. The military took immediate action, and began mastering a plan to help abolish the disease, and prevent further spread. Nancy and her husband Jerry were both assigned to help with the job.
What shocked me the most was how quickly an unknown disease can turn into something so scary. One minute they thought the monkey's may have some sort of simple flu, the next it's a dangerous ebola outbreak. It just leaves that bit of fear in my mind that when i'm sick, maybe it's something else, and I just don't know it yet. It just leaves you thinking, and worrying. But, it does however make me feel much safer that our society is capable of dealing with such a big crisis in such an efficient manor.
HOT ZONE POST # 3: Part 3
This section is mainly focused on the isolation of the Ebola disease that was found amongst the lab. They try to keep their efforts on the down low as to not attract to much media attention, which could more than likely cause a panic throughout the country. The team of specialized soldiers enter the lab not really knowing what to expect. They have to kill each monkey one by one, and dispose of them in the proper manor. They kill each monkey in a painless manor, and make sure to be as humane as possible. Each person that goes in or out of the contaminated lab must wear a specialized suit that protects them from the virus itself. Each tank has it's own tank of oxygen which enables the person within the suit to breathe clean fresh air. There is one incident where one soldiers battery that powers her suit, including the oxygen tank, fails. She had to be IMMEDIATELY evacuated. She made it out alright and uninfected, but got very lucky. Also, one monkey broke free and reeked havoc as the soldiers fought to re-contain it.
Just picturing myself in the shoes of any one of the soldiers that had to enter that lab gives me the shivers. The thought of not knowing if something would go wrong or not from one second to the next. Also, the thought of having to put down so many innocent animals is horrifying. They might not have all been sick yet, but they were put to death anyways. I did think it was romantic however how Jerry and Nancy worked together on this. Something about doing something that may kill you with the one you love just kills me. I'm really excited to keep reading and finish the fourth section.
HOT ZONE POST # 4: Part 4
The book ends with the author, Richard Preston, take a trip to Kitum Cave in Africa to get his own take on the disease. You learn about where AIDS first started. The highway they must travel to get to the save is called "AIDS Highway" or also known as the "Kinshasa Highway." This is the place in which they first found the disease. Preston, of course wears a bio-safety suit in hopes to protect himself from the dangers of the cave as he explores within it's realms. The novel ends very powerfully, with the author traveling to the monkey house that was infected by the disease earlier in the novel. His ending statement of the book is, "It will be back".
I thought this was a great way to end the novel. It sort of gave you a life line of the disease, showing you where it started and where it hopefully came to an end. It made it that much more real for me. To think that it started somewhere so remote in Africa and then made it's way so far as to infect so many other animals. It really strikes you, and shows you how scary disease can really be.
Personal Post #8:
It's All in the GENES
I was sitting at a family dinner the other day when suddenly everyone started talking about how I had my Dad's eyes, my mom's hands and so on. It really got me thinking, do I actually? I'd never really thought about how I actually inherited genes and what not from my parents, and what parts of them really made up me.
When our parents "do the dirty" to conceive us a twenty three chromosome sperm joins together with a twenty three chromosfor egg come together to form a fourty six chromosome zygote which eventually moves on to form a baby. This is where the magic first begins to bring us to being like our mothers and fathers. Each and every one of those chromosomes contains genetic info, and the chromosomes that a passed onto us from our parents contain a certain amount of thur genetic information. This genetic info is what decides our hair color, nose shape, skigenome, pretty. Icy everything that makes up who we are. These chromosomes also help the body to produce enzymes that the body uses to help regulate chemical reactions within the body. All those these chromosomes and genetic info is contained in something called DNA, which is the basic building blocks of our body. It is said that the human body contains between twenty five to thirty thousand genes. That's an INSANE amount!! And so many of those come from your parents.
Think of it this way your mother has the genes that give her blue eyes, when her chromosmosis join together with your father's to create you, those certain genes may pass along also giving you bright blue eyes. Also something that people never rally think about is that it's not just looks that pass through the gene pool, it can also be personality traits and hereditary diseases. If cancer runs in your family genes, the you might be much mor susceptible to being diagnosed with it later in life. I know myself, I have , father's out going personality, and my mom's stubbornness.
Kids health from nemours. (2011). Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/system/medical/about_genetics.html
Turbosquid. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/255352
Personal Post #9:
Ouch, THAT HURTS
As a girl, it's always been something that i've wondered. Every once a month, when your time comes around, why on earth does it hurt so much? So off to google I went to learn all about what causes period cramps!
All women have something called a uterus, this is where the formation of a baby takes place, through the process of a sperm fertilizing an egg. Most women however do not have this fertilization process happen each month. Instead, the inner walls of the uterus begin to break down and compounds called prostaglandins are formed. These said compounds cause the walls of the uterus begin to become more compact. This is done so that the oxygen supply is cut off to the uterus causing it's lining tissue to die. Once this has taken place the contraction of the uterus literally squeezes this dead tissue out through the vagina as means of disposing it. Also leukotriene, which is a chemical involved in the body's inflammatory response, levels are highly elevated at the time of menstruation. The contraction and elevated levels scientists believe are two of the main causes of the grave pain many girls face each month.
It doesn't always have to be so bad though. As the years go by we are constantly finding little tid-bits that help us struggle through the pain. There are several recommended exercises that you can do to help reduce the severity of your cramps. (http://www.beinggirl.com:80/article/exercise-cramps/) Also doctors recommend several different medications such as Midol, Birth Control, Advil, and so on. A healthy diet and a good nights sleep have also been know to be a pretty effective remedy. It's definitely a dreaded time of month, but hey, it's nice that I now know what's going on.
-Stoppler, M. (n.d.). Menstrual cramps. MedicineNet.com, Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/menstrual_cramps/page2.htm
-(2011). Exercise cramps. BeingGirl, Retrieved from http://www.beinggirl.com:80/article/exercise-cramps/
Hot Zone Spin-off/Personal Post #10:
What the book made me think about was how a disease sort of "lives inside you" in a sense. This thought led to another which led to another which really go me thinking, what if something LIVING was actually inside of you! What would that be like. What I first jumped to was youtube. I figured looking up true stories of humans having living creatures inside them would be a great way to get a feel for what it would truly be like.
I was able to find the following videos:
Video # 1:
I thought that was so crazy how they attached to him while gardening and then just burrowed and nested in the back of his head. I can't imagine the pain in that, or how scary it would be. Especially next to his brain which is such a vital organ.
Video #2:
Hookworms sounds terrible. We learned about them in Bio class, and they just made me cringe. The thought of those jagged teeth attaching to your intestine is gut wrenching. It has been estimated that around one fifth of the worlds population has been infected by tape worms at some point in their life. That is such a scary thought to know that so many people have experienced it, and I could so easily be the next. It can take something as simple as walking barefoot across infected soil, which gives them to ability to attach to your skin.
Video #3:
June bugs are found all across North America. The one inside this mans ear was living when it crawled inside and then later died off inside of his head. It's a little under one inch in length, which is crazy when you think of how small your ear hole is. How one earth did it fit in there in the first place?
I could NOT imagine being infested with any one of these living creatures. Our bodies were never built to have other living organisms inside of them, which makes your mind wander to all the possibilities of things that could go wrong!
Unknown. (2010). June bug. BugFacts.net, Retrieved from http://www.bugfacts.net/june-bug.php
Fulford, M. (2002). Hookworm. Encyclopedia of Public Health, Retrieved from http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/hookworm.aspx